Wellcome funds establishment of a NITAGs Support Hub (NISH) at UCT

The UCT’s Vaccines for Africa Initiative (VACFA) received a grant from Wellcome to support the establishment of a NITAGs Support Hub (NiSH). The five-year grant began in July 2021 and is led by the Principal Investigator Dr Benjamin Kagina and Co-PIs Professor Gregory Hussey and Professor Rudzani Muloiwa. Dr. Benjamin is a Senior Researcher and Co-Director of VACFA (https://health.uct.ac.za/vacfa/about-vacfa/vacfa-team). 

National Immunisation Technical Advisory Groups (NITAGs) provides evidence-informed recommendations on vaccines and immunisation to their Ministry of Health (MoH). NITAGs are integral to country ownership of immunisation programmes - a core principle of WHO Immunisation Agenda 2030 (IA2030). A major challenge facing NITAGs in the WHO Africa region is the lack of scientific and technical support in Evidence-Informed Decision-Making (EIDM). NiSH broader goal is to address this major challenge faced by NITAGs.